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Curtain dropping on NBC, ESPN coverage of the U.S. Open

NBC and ESPN turn over the U.S. Open to Fox upon completion of this week’s tournament at Pinehurst, after a combined 53 years and more than 1,000 hours of live coverage.

Floating beneath the usual storylines of who will win the country’s national open is the subplot of the two networks that will end their respective eras of bringing the Open drama into homes every year.

NBC’s weekend coverage ends after 20 years, and ESPN’s early-round coverage draws to a close after 33 years.

Fox won the TV rights to the Open for the next 12 years, at a stunning fee of $93 million per year, for a total of $1.1 billion. Fox will join ESPN and its coverage of the Open Championship to be the only networks to air all four rounds of a major championship.

When NBC first obtained the U.S. Open, its rights fee was $13 million in the first year.

Two First Coast residents have had key roles with each network. Tommy Roy, NBC’s Emmy-award winning golf producer; and Billy Kratzert, a four-time PGA Tour winner, has been an on-course analyst for ESPN.

Roy wants the action this week to be the story and pledged the best possible job of his production staff.

“The story will not be about being NBC’s last U.S. Open,” he said.

“Unfortunately, because of business circumstances, it’s our last [U.S. Open],’’ Roy said during an NBC teleconference. “But its been a real privilege to televise a major and we’re giving maximum effort to deliver our best shows yet.’’

Roy said he has been asked frequently if NBC will cut back and cut corners on the final Open telecast – especially since the circumstances of the United States Golf Association jumping ships led to critical words on all sides when it was announced last fall.

“I can absolutely assure you that’s not in our team’s DNA,” Roy said. “I’ve been asked, ’are you going to cut back on equipment and do it on the cheap?’ Absolutely not.”

Kratzert, who will work his 18th U.S. Open as an on-course analyst for ESPN, left no doubt about how much the loss of the event will hurt him on a personal level.

“It’s going to be hard to let it go,’’ he said. “This has been a special week for us for a long time. It’s going to be sad. But as we look back at the job we’ve all done, we can be very satisfied about how exemplary our coverage has been.’’

Roy said that at some point towards the end of Sunday’s coverage, a reference to NBC’s final U.S. Open will be made on the air.

Likewise, NBC analyst Johnny Miller, the 1973 Open winner who used the week of the Open to utter some of his most pointed and barbed analysis, said he will be focused on the action and nothing else.

“Theres a million storylines and I’m just excited to be part of it and part of the team that covers at NBC,’’ Miller said.”I’m ready right now.’’

Under Roy’s direction, NBC has delivered iconic images of U.S. Opens that not only will be remembered in the history of the tournament, but in the history of major championships.

One of those, perhaps the most enduring, happened at Pinehurst in 1999 when NBC captured Payne Stewart’s winning putt and subsequent fist-pump, followed by taking runner-up Phil Mickelson’s face in his hands to remind him of a pretty good consolation prize: “You’re going to be a father.”

The next day, Mickelson’s wife Amy gave birth to the first of their three children.

There was also Corey Pavin’s dramatic 4-wood shot into the 18th green at Shinnecock in 1995, the year of NBC’s first Open; Tiger Wood’s euphoric reaction to making a birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Torrey Pines in 2008 to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate; and Mickelson’s reaction to his double-bogey on the final hole at Winged Foot in 2006, bent over, head in his heads, and the comment after the round, “I am such an idiot.”

ESPN’s first Open was in 1982 at Pebble Beach, with Jim Simons as the anchor. Chris Berman took over four years later. Two other members of the ESPN talent crew are two-time U.S. Open champions Curtis Strange and Andy North.

“It’s bittersweet,’’ Strange said during an ESPN teleconference last week. “We work hard at this. Not just us [the on-air talent]. We’re the face but the people behind the scenes have been working 14- or 15-hour days the last two weeks. It’s a great loss. The U.S. Open is a big part of our lives.’’

North said, “It’s very important we go out with a great Open.

“We’re all very disappointed it ended up where it ended up,” he said. “We’ll do our best to give them the best show we can.”

John Wildhack, ESPN’s executive vice-president for production and programming, said in statement that the network has “enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the USGA and the U.S. Open. “We thank the USGA staff and the executive committee for their partnership,” Wildhack went on to say. “We take pride in having worked with the USGA to present the national championship of American golf. I am proud of the passion, dedication and creativity our golf staff brought to the U.S. Open and other USGA championships. We look forward to a great week at Pinehurst.”